International Peace Institute (IPI)

🔔New on the Global Observatory: UN Secretary-General Candidates Should Come to Geneva The selection process for the next UN secretary-general has become more transparent, with public dialogues now a central feature. Yet nearly a decade after these reforms, one thing has not changed: the debates remain centered entirely in New York. Does this narrow the conversation at a time when the UN’s work extends far beyond geopolitics? In this article, Adam Day argues that candidates should also engage in formal consultations in Geneva—the UN’s operational and normative hub—to reflect the full scope of global challenges, from climate change and humanitarian crises to trade, technology, and human rights. What would a more representative and globally grounded selection process look like? 👉Read the full analysis: https://lnkd.in/eXczequY

A pleasure to welcome HE Katsuhiko Takahashi, Japan’s Ambassador for Women, Peace and Security, to share IPI's work on WPS and explore opportunities for collaboration.

This morning in #NewYork, IPI, together with the Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations and the Permanent Mission of Zimbabwe to the United Nations, convened a roundtable on “Advancing African Peace and Security through Cross-Regional Partnerships in the Security Council”.     Participants engaged in a candid exchange on the role of elected members of the UN Security Council and the growing importance of cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union.     By bringing together diverse perspectives in a trusted setting, the conversation aimed to move beyond coordination toward more strategic and impactful partnerships.

🔔New on the Global Observatory: The Cost of Leading: Violence against Women in Kenyan Politics in the Lead-up to 2027 Kenyan women have long been at the forefront of defending democracy—from leading protests and legal advocacy to shaping constitutional change. Yet as the country approaches the 2027 elections, their leadership is increasingly met with violence, intimidation, and harassment—both online and offline. What happens to democratic participation when those stepping forward to lead are systematically targeted? In this article, Nerima Wako-Ojiwa and Devon Knudsen examine the growing backlash against women in politics, the structural barriers limiting their participation, and the implications for governance, accountability, and gender-based violence in Kenya. As election-related violence intensifies, what would it take to ensure women can participate safely—and fully—in political life? 👉Read the full analysis: https://lnkd.in/egKyTAQb

🔔New on the Global Observatory: Moving Beyond the Security Council’s Impasse to Support Afghanistan One of the Security Council’s core tools in Afghanistan, the 1988 sanctions regime, remains largely unchanged despite major shifts on the ground since the Taliban took over in 2021. If sanctions are meant to shape political behavior, what happens when they are no longer tied to clear objectives? In this new article, Aref Dostyar, CJ Pine, and George A. Lopez examine how the current sanctions framework has become decoupled from a coherent political strategy and what it would take to realign it with peace, security, and the realities facing Afghans today. Can the Security Council move beyond maintaining the status quo—and turn sanctions into a more effective tool for diplomacy? 👉Read the full analysis: https://lnkd.in/eem5As8y

CSW69 is a wrap — and what a week it was. Across a wide range of perspectives and countless conversations in the margins, IPI's Women Peace and Security team engaged where it matters most: bridging research and action, linking New York to Geneva, and global frameworks to local realities. Here's a look at what we were part of: 🔵 IPI hosted two closed-door roundtables: 👉🏼 Creating Enabling Environments for Women's Safe Participation. 👉🏼 Advancing Gender Equality in Multilateral Diplomacy through Justice, Peace and Security, bridging the New York and Geneva agendas. 🔵 Phoebe Randel Donnelly, Head of IPI's WPS team, took the stage at two high-level panels: 👉🏼 At the Austrian Federal Ministry's event on Women as Agents for Security and Peace, she spoke to the operational evidence for gender integration in security institutions — and how WPS can move from a parallel track to a core part of peace and security frameworks. 👉🏼 At CCCPA and CARE Egypt's event on localizing the WPS agenda, she addressed the real challenge of the moment: how to build coalitions, sharpen messaging, and anchor prevention — especially as backlash against women's rights intensifies globally. 🔵 Evyn Papworth, IPI’s WPS Policy Analyst, brought IPI's research to a cross-regional conversation: 👉🏼 At an event hosted by Instituto Simone de Beauvoir, OXFAM LAC, and CLACSO on care as a human right, she spoke about advancing the care agenda at the multilateral level — and shared IPI's on-the-ground research on Mexico City's ÚTOPIAS community centers as a model for dismantling structural barriers to care. Thank you to all our partners and co-hosts for making these conversations possible. The work continues. https://lnkd.in/eYEjVKxw

🔔New on the Global Observatory: Strait of Hormuz: Time for a Maritime Peacekeeping Operation? The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is reverberating across global energy markets, supply change and humanitarian delivery, intensifying the debate over how to respond. Military escorts have been proposed as a solution, but are they actually feasible? And what risks do they carry? In this new article, Christian Bueger examines why military approaches may fall short, how recent diplomatic efforts point to alternative pathways, and what role multilateral mechanisms—including the UN—could play in restoring freedom of navigation. Could a UN-mandated maritime peacekeeping operation offer a viable path forward? 👉Read the full analysis: https://lnkd.in/eXefCaTH

We just wrapped one of the biggest retreats ahead of the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels — and it happened just outside #Paris, in the historic town of Chantilly.   Over three intense days, we brought together government representative and key stakeholders to have off-the-record discussions, exploring some of the most pressing challenges of the transition: 🟢 reducing economic and fiscal dependence on fossil fuels 🟢 reshaping supply and demand systems 🟢 strengthening international cooperation and climate diplomacy   The retreat offered a space outside the usual constraints of negotiation rooms—where people can speak openly and connect on a more human level. Trust builds, ideas get tested, and common ground starts to form. That's what often creates the conditions for change.   Momentum is building toward Santa Marta 🇨🇴, where the transition away conference takes place 24–29 April. A big thank you to our co-hosts, #Colombia and the #Netherlands!

A closed-door roundtable at #CSW70 brings together diverse stakeholders to tackle the growing gap between normative commitments and implementation on gender equality. The focus: identifying practical pathways to advance WPS priorities, reinforce justice mechanisms, and align efforts across New York, Geneva, Addis, and other multilateral hubs. UN Women, DCAF - Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance, Permanent Mission of Canada to the UN | Mission permanente du Canada auprès de l’ONU, African Union Office of the Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security (OSE-WPS). Phoebe Randel Donnelly, Evyn Papworth, Olivia Parsons

🔔New on the Global Observatory: The UN’s Hidden Power Architecture: What the Next Secretary-General Must Understand As debates over the UN80 reform agenda unfold, much of the discussion has focused on efficiency, mandate review, and structural streamlining. But a deeper question remains largely unaddressed: who actually governs the UN development system? In this article, Frederik Matthys examines how the UN’s development architecture is shaped by a “triple disconnect” between formal governance structures, the concentration of financial power among major donors, and the limited influence of program countries and affected communities. What would it take for the next secretary-general to confront these structural imbalances—and what leverage does the office actually have to do so? 👉Read the full analysis: https://lnkd.in/eW8WNdk9